A Michigan man has been sentenced to eight years in prison for mail fraud and money laundering in an international telemarketing scheme involving a call center in Pakistan, officials said.
Irfan Gill, 63, of Portage, was sentenced after being convicted of seven counts of mail fraud and eleven counts of money laundering. He was also ordered to pay $561,980.27 in restitution to all the victims impacted by this scheme.
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“Irfan Gill preyed on older Americans to pad his own pocket, leaving victims scared and ruined,” said U.S. Attorney Mark Totten. “Every day these scams happen across America and target vulnerable members of our communities. We’re fighting to hold these criminals accountable, but above all want to prevent these crimes. I encourage everyone to protect themselves and their loved ones: be wary of unsolicited calls; never share sensitive information; and resist the pressure to act quickly.”
During his trial, evidence revealed that between June 2018 and March 2022, Gill worked with a call center in Pakistan to defraud more than 1,500 elderly people in the U.S. into paying for cable and satellite television upgrades and subscription discounts that never got provided.
Officials say the people at the call center convinced the victims to send checks and money orders to post office boxes in Portage. Sometimes, the callers would even threaten to end the victims' television services if they didn’t follow their instructions.
Once the payments were sent, Gill would deposit them into bank accounts under the names of fake cable companies, including Cable Upgrade, D Network, D Tech, Direct Network, Dish, Dish Upgrade and Sky Satellite.
Gill kept track of all the payments and calculated how much money to keep for himself, and what to wire to Pakistan.
Throughout the scheme, Gill avoided getting caught by having several bank accounts and post office boxes. He also allegedly convinced bank investigators that all of the fake companies were real.
Gill also didn’t pay taxes on the funds from this scheme, and he received a $20,000 Paycheck Protection Program loan during the COVID-19 pandemic under one of his fake companies.
“This sentencing highlights the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s dedication to safeguarding our most vulnerable citizens, especially the elderly, from those who seek to exploit them for personal financial gain,” said Inspector in Charge Rodney M. Hopkins of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Detroit Division. “This individual’s fraudulent activities inflicted untold financial and emotional distress on the victims, and today’s sentencing reaffirms our commitment to protecting the public from such schemes. We will continue to be vigilant in our pursuit of justice for those who would prey upon the vulnerable.”
